Chapter 12 A Sibling’s Scolding
Close Connections
“But no one would want to be friends with them!”
“You never know… We could always teach them to do it in private.”
“It would also mean that they were licking themselves.”
“Erm… I guess, yes.”
“See? It’d be awful!”
Tam let out a long sigh before he took a delicious sip of coffee.
He and Eli were still deep in discussion on the issues that might arise if their future child was part beast the morning after Luca’s birthday party.
In this particular instance, they were debating whether the child would come out with fur and, therefore, cough up hairballs.
While Eli had worked herself up to the point that her shoulders nearly touched her earlobes, Tam had adopted a far more relaxed air.
There were a large number of troubles in their present, and he felt no need to borrow concerns from the future.
“I don’t think I should turn into my familiar form until after the baby is born,” Eli announced, her hands gripping her teacup a little more tightly.
“Whatever you think is best.” Tam nodded agreeably.
Eli’s eyes snapped to him.
Tam had been about to take another sip of coffee, but the intensity of Eli’s stare made him pause.
He gazed back at her patiently.
“You think we’re going to be fine,” she assumed evenly.
“I do.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Eli scoffed. “You try thinking about birthing something with claws.”
Tam recoiled.
“See?” Eli emphasized triumphantly.
Tam hid his laugh behind a cough before setting his cup down on the table and leaning over to grasp Eli’s hands. “That does sound terrifying. And these are all valid worries…”
“You think I should focus on our other problems instead of this one?” Eli guessed knowingly.
Tam grinned.
Eli wore her periwinkle-blue Zinferan dress dotted with red flowers. Despite the two untamable cowlicks in her chin-length hair, she looked beautiful to Tam.
Dropping his eyes to their joined hands, Tam rubbed his thumb over Eli’s knuckles.
“You should think and worry about what you want. I can’t imagine what it’s like growing another person.
But… upsetting yourself when there is nothing to do but hurry up and wait might be hard on you, and I want you to feel comfortable. ”
Eli didn’t speak straightaway. Rather she looked like she was lightly gnawing on her tongue before she managed to respond with, “It’s a shame you dislike being social. You’re annoyingly adept at giving diplomatic answers.”
Tam dropped his chin to his chest with a quiet snort.
“There is a genuine worry that fits into this line of questions,” Eli ventured carefully.
Tam lifted his head, his good humor sobering in the face of her serious expression.
“If… If the child is affected by my having ancient beast blood in me, it is possible that it could change when I give birth. Cats give birth after only being pregnant a few weeks!”
Tam straightened.
That was a very valid concern.
“Wait.” Tam paused. “You said you didn’t manifest your beast form until you were older.”
Eli blinked at his recollection of her past. “Yes, that is true.”
“So wouldn’t it stand to reason that if our child inherits that ability, they wouldn’t have any kind of trait or transformation until they, too, were older?”
Relief seized Eli. “Gods, you’re right.” She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. “That does make me feel better.”
Rising partially out of his seat, Tam brushed a kiss over her forehead before settling back down. “I’m worried, too. Trust me. I’m relatively certain I’m going to be having a mental breakdown when you go into labor.”
The corners of Eli’s lips rose. “I’d like to see that.”
Tam’s jaw dropped in mock offense. “Gods, you wish emotional torment on me. Just who have I agreed to spend my life with?”
Eli gave a quiet cackle as she, too, eased back in her seat. “Don’t worry, you haven’t married me yet. There is still plenty of time for me to scare you off.”
Tam slowly crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Eli. “I’d marry you this instant. But we’re getting my parents together to attend. As you should know by now, I do my utmost to keep my promises.”
Eli tilted her head, a warm gleam in her eyes, as she allowed the hand Tam had seized to drift back around her teacup. “I do.”
“You seem happy today. I like it.”
Eli set her cup down on the table. “Yes, well. Aside from our persistently expanding horde of children, all we have to do today is force the Lobahlans to tell us what they know about the device Wixim gave us.”
Tam rose to his feet and rounded Eli’s chair to rest his hands on her shoulders. He pressed his thumbs into her and rubbed them in slow, careful circles.
“Oh.” A groan of pleasure escaped Eli’s mouth, which happened to have a very unrelaxing effect on Tam, but he shoved such thoughts to the side as he continued to massage.
“When did you want us to start prying that information out of them?” Tam asked, letting his sights glide over to Luca and Penelope. They were subjecting the Lobahlans to their every whim, which included being pushed on the swing, playing card games, and the occasional bout of hide-and-seek.
“After lunch, people are usually sleepy, and so they aren’t as quick. We’ll do it then.” Eli replied with a slight slur as she continued to enjoy Tam’s work on her shoulders.
“Alright, sounds like a plan.” Tam bent over and brushed a kiss along the side of Eli’s neck, making a flush of goosebumps appear. He grinned and lingered near the spot.
Clearing her throat, Tam noted the way she shifted. The sails slapped in the wind, but otherwise things were quite quiet on the deck.
“You know…” she began as the tops of her ears turned red.
“Mm?” Tam kissed her neck again.
“It’s not like I can get more pregnant.”
“I like the way you think there, Taejo.”
“Ugh. I’m not the emperor’s adopted daughter anymore, remember?” Eli’s head swiveled to stare up at Tam, who let his hands slip to her upper arms.
“And so what name should the magistrate read out during our vows?” Tam heard the huskiness in his voice. Thanks to the fact that his mind was swimming with all kinds of private activities, he didn’t particularly care.
Eli licked her lips. Evidently, she was not unaffected by the mood.
“Just Elisara… or maybe Harris?”
Stunned, Tam couldn’t help but eventually give another short laugh. “Oof. Mackenzie and Oscar Harris as your guardians? Harris is going to have a field day with my father if he gets to say they are in-laws.”
Eli bristled a little, but she did so with a grin of her own. “That sounds like their problem.”
“Right. Well. I don’t exactly feel like calling you Harris, so I guess I’ll keep working on finding a good nickname.”
“Do we really need one? It isn’t like my name is difficult to say.” Eli stood with Tam’s help, and the pair casually wandered closer to the stairs that would take them back down toward their cabin.
“I’d like to have one. It’s a name that only you or I could use, which makes it fun.”
“You want me to call you Ashowan?” Eli wondered while glancing up at Tam.
Tam winced. “Too many people call my father that.”
“Lin? From your full name, Tamlin?”
Tam shot a flat look in response, then made another suggestion of his own. “Your alias in Zinfera was Ellie; what about that?”
By this time, they were halfway down the ship’s passageway, and they had to slow as their eyes adjusted to the darkness. The rest of their stroll passed by quickly—though that was most likely because they both happened to be taking long, hurried steps.
“I’m not too fond of Ellie.” Eli waited as Tam reached for their cabin’s door handle. He followed her into the room and shut the door behind them.
“I could just call you ‘wife.’”
“But I’m not your wife.”
Tam prowled closer, forcing Eli to back up. She jolted when the backs of her thighs hit a table.
Tam stooped down and picked her up—making her squeak—and plunked her down on the table surface. He slowly pushed her skirts higher so he could stand closer to her.
He lowered his head, his mouth hovering over hers as he said, “You will be my wife someday, and it better be someday soon.”
They were so close that when Eli’s breath hitched, he heard it just fine.
“To be honest…” Eli had to pause to swallow. “I don’t really care if we do or don’t get marrie—”
Tam kissed her with a faint growl, cutting her off.
When he eventually stopped, he didn’t fully pull away again, as he ended the discussion by saying, “Well, I damn well do care. And you better get ready, because there are a lot more things I’m going to want to do with you after the fact.”
Despite the flush in Eli’s cheeks and glassiness in her eyes, she still managed to respond with a faint, teasing question of her own. “Oh? Like what?”
Tam felt his expression turn roguish as his hands wandered up her sides. “You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”
And then he was kissing her again. As a result, both of their respective patience seemed to run out as they indulged in a leisurely morning of closeness that had them remaining in their cabin until lunch.
★ ★ ★
“Really?” Luca’s smile made his entire face glow.
“Yes! But don’t tell them I told you!” Penelope whispered, pressing a finger to her lips.
The two children sat on the deck with a pile of their playing cards messily stacked after a game of Battle Eight. It was almost time for lunch. The Lobahlans had retreated to the round table that Tam and Eli had abandoned a while ago—for some unknown reason.
“Do you know what it is?” Luca persisted, leaning in conspiratorially as two sailors strode by.
Penelope smirked and nodded, her eyes following the men to make sure they were out of earshot.
“Ooh!” Luca giggled, absolutely thrilled as he clenched his fists and proceeded to do a funny little dance one of the sailors had shown him the night before. “Will you tell me?”
“Maybe! Maybe if you do everything I say, I will.”
“Aw!” Luca’s jubilant mood dropped, but then he stilled, his eyes turning pensive. “If I tell you a secret, will you tell me?”
Penelope perked up for a moment before turning skeptical. “You don’t have one. You’re bluffing.”
“I’m not! I swear!” Luca declared earnestly.
Penelope’s eyes narrowed. “Really?”
“Really!”
She scooted closer to Luca. “Alright, if you tell me, I’ll tell you.”
Luca grinned again and brought up his hand to whisper. “My bad dreams are getting better. I don’t see sad things and scary monsters anymore!”
Penelope pulled away, annoyed. “That isn’t a secret! Why would it even be a secret?”
Hurt, Luca frowned. “Because I don’t tell people about my dreams, and I don’t get to be happy with anyone else about it.”
Penelope scowled. She looked like she wanted to argue more, but she had no choice but to accept such a sweet confession that made her feel reluctantly special.
And so she leaned forward with a sigh, cupped her own hand around Luca’s ear, and told him a tidbit of information about the future that she knew Tam and Eli would most likely want to know very, very much.
And when he heard the answer, he surged to his feet and started jumping up and down, unable to contain himself.
“YES!”
Giggling, Penelope joined him in jumping up and celebrating the secret news she had shared.